A handful of students grilled Novak on the scandal that has prompted a Justice Department investigation before their questions turned to the California recall, rebuilding Iraq and what it's like to meet President Bush.

The host of The Novak Zone and co-host of Crossfire repeated what he has already said publicly and written in a subsequent column: He would not have revealed Valerie Plame's identity if the CIA warned him it would put her at risk. Even so, he said, he doesn't think the revelation caused any harm because her name already was well-known in Washington.

The students didn't mention the charge that Novak was a pawn in a Bush administration plot to punish Plame's husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson. Novak refused to take questions from the media.

In July, just after Wilson publicly accused Bush of distorting the facts on Iraq, Novak reported that Plame was a CIA operative. The CIA sent Wilson to Niger early last year to check out allegations Iraq was trying to buy enriched uranium. He reported back that the charge was baseless, but Bush repeated the allegations in his State of the Union speech.

One student asked Novak to respond to another journalist's assertion that anonymous sources should never be used. Another questioned why he wouldn't reveal the identity of the two "senior administration officials" quoted in his column.

"An anonymous source giving you information that is accurate and certifiable ... that's the lifeblood of journalism," Novak said. "I'm not going to tell them who my original leak was. ... That'd be the end of my career. If you can't protect your sources, you're finished."

Students also asked Novak if the backlash surprised him. He said "firestorms" like the one surrounding his column occur weekly in Washington.

"This has stayed alive for several reasons," he said. "A lot of people want to use it to bring down President Bush. There are a lot of people -- on the left and right -- who don't like me and would like to discredit me."

Student journalists in the crowd had mixed reviews.

"He was less guarded than I anticipated he would be. He put on a good show," said Sheena Foster, editor of the student newspaper, ePulse. "I think he did well, but he snubbed me when I tried to ask more questions."

Caline Fonteneau, ePulse news editor, felt Novak "said everything. I had other questions he covered. I didn't have to ask."

Other students, some of whom were required to attend the session for class, did not know of Novak or the Plame controversy when the newspaper staff polled them last week, she said.

That didn't keep them from enjoying Novak's quips. Asked if it was intimidating to meet President George Bush, he drew laughs by replying, "No. Why should it be? I knew him back when he was still drinking."

Beth P. Krane can be reached at bpkrane@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6631.